Boutheib H.H. SH. Sultan Bin Zayed AHO Championship by Fabio Brianzoni z photos by Erwin Escher (www.erwinescher.com), Pamela Burton, Fabio Brianzoni U nder the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the 10th Equestrian Festival was held in Abu Dhabi and Boutheib. 21 days entirely dedicated to the Arabian horses from A to Z. It started on 21st February with a global conference and it ended on 12th March with the last event dedicated to endurance & an interactive educational event outlining Sheikh Sultan s new endurance rules together with talks from top international speakers. TuttoArabi was there to make the reportage of the days and as one of the media partners of the Festival. The Emirates Heritage Club is the organization that www.tuttoarabi.com - TUTTO ARABI 113
manages and supports this event and many others in Abu Dhabi and surrounding regions, handling Arabian ridden & dressage classes, Arabian beauty shows, endurance rides, International jumping competitions and related conferences. The event organization was entrusted to Ms. Deirdre Hyde and Ms. Leigh Young. Ms. Hyde is also the Breeding Manager of W RSAN Stables, the Arabian racing stud farm owned by H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The festival started on 21st February with the AGM & Conference of HARC. In its first year since inception, many countries have been joining the Heritage Arabian Racing Club (HARC) in its dedication to organizing races for pure Arabian horses and offering sponsorship prize money donated by H.H. Sheikh Sultan. HARC is the vision of Sheikh Sultan and is in place to encourage Arabian breeders back into racing and opening up the gene pool. The same philosophy followed by AHO, the Arabian Horse Organization, that awards prize money to the show horse breeders. AHO was born thanks to the will of HRH Abdulaziz Ahmed Abdulaziz Al Saud. Mr. Ahmed AbdulRazek, Dr. Mohamed Machmoum and Mr. Essam Abdullah are the leading members of AHO. HARC and AHO both sponsor many events worldwide and work hard to update the International breeders and support their growth. The two associations were both present in Abu Dhabi on the occasion of the 10th Festival edition. On 21st February the HARC Racing Conference opened the Festival. Many themes were presented: the Arabian horses in the racing world, the history of the horse from the Middle East to Europe, the importance of marketing HARC, the success of HARC in improving the number of races and horses in training in countries like Australia, Brazil, Tunisia, Sweden, Belgium, the USA and many others. In the afternoon the 40 International guests were invited to watch the first of six races held at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club which took place on a 2000 mt. track. The racing was very exciting as racing always is! We also had the pleasure and the privilege to visit W rsan Stables where, in addition to the beautiful Arabian race horses, H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan breeds also famous desert saluki hounds, one of the most ancient dog breeds known which, thanks to its strength and speed, has travelled through history together with the desert nomads. The farm also breeds falcons dedicated to the art of falconry. The farm s Wild Life Division, directed by Dr. Jamie Seymour, houses many different animal species. One fun meeting we had, was with a baby lion cub. W arsan Stables, the extent of which amounts to 6x4km, boasts 600 Arabian horses, enormous grass paddocks and boxes, a clinic together with its own insemination centre and a great training facilities for current and future champions. The special milestone here is MONARCH AH (Wiking x Sasanka by Almifar), a stallion born in 1987 who is the foundation sire of Wrsan. The AHO Conference, organized in partnership with Emirates Heritage Club & Emirates Arabian Horse Society, introduced many topics focused on The Arabian Horse in the World. The guest speakers were: Mr.Abdulmalek Obaid Al Kassamy from KSA introducing the importance of the Desert Bred in the history of the Middle East and the debate about them, Dr. Marek Trela who recalled, with the help of historical slide display and a meaningful video made by Mrs. Anna Stojanowska, the evolution of the Arabian horse in Poland and the role of the three most important polish breeding farms which bred many great champions: JanowPodlaski, Michalow and Bialka. The audience applauded enthusiastically, as a sign of respect and gratitude to the three government studs. Nobody better that Dr. Nasr Marei, who has been breeding in Egypt for generations, would be able to introduce the topic of the Straight Egyptian horse. His speech opened a lively and useful debate among the audience and the speakers. The photographic project by Mrs. Cynthia Culberson, well known as the writer of several books about the Arabian Purebred and for her cooperation with our magazine Desert Heritage, gathered several ancient pictures from the past, when horses were fundamental for the human survival, reminding us how essential and necessary is the respect to the horses and to the living beings in general. Dr. Mohamed Machmoum moderated the discussion. 60 km from Abu Dhabi, at the Boutheib EquestrianVillage, in the Olympic sized covered arena of the center managed by Mr. Mohammad M. Al Mazroui, took place the 3 day Arabian horse beauty show named The 3rd AHO Breeders Cup Followed by a further 2 days of dressage events including ridden classes and a very nice first competition for young Emirati riders and a traditional costumes class divided into two groups for children and adults. As always the organization by Mrs. Deirdre Hyde, Mr. Essam Abdulla, Mrs. Leigh Young, Mrs. Fredericke Kopp, Mr. Ahmed AbdulRazek and Dr. Mohamed Machmoum was great. Amongst the many guests there was also a delegation from 114 TUTTO ARABI - www.tuttoarabi.com
Morocco: the Director of the Salon du Cheval d El Jadida and several breeders bringing some of their best horses, 20 in all. The judges invited to give their preference to the 349 horses entered were: Mrs. Claudia Darius (Germany), Dr. Nasr Marei (Egypt), Dr. Marek Trela (Poland), Mr. Jaroslav Lacina (Czech Rep.) and Mr. James SwaenePoel (Belgium). Dr. Abdel Wahab Ben Ali Amira was in the arena to check the security and the show timing. Considering the large number of horses, the Disciplinary Committee was composed by 5 vets: Dr. MamdouhHassan Fouad, Dr. Umer Raza Gill, Dr. Abdel Wahab Ben Ali Amira, Dr. Kaies Ben Hadi Ouelhazie and Dr. Haitham Babiker Tayfour. Mr. Peter Biju gave the scores and the speaker s voice was by Mr. Abdallah Albarmaki. Enjoy the pictures from the show taken by Mr. Erwin Escher, the official photographer of the Festival. q www.tuttoarabi.com - TUTTO ARABI 115
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AHO conference z photos by Pamela Burton 118 TUTTO ARABI - www.tuttoarabi.com
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D JAWAHER gold Medal yearling fillies FA EL RASHEEM D NOOR Owner: DUBAI ARABIAN HORSE STUD 120 TUTTO ARABI - www.tuttoarabi.com
Silver Medal Yearling fillies BAZGHAH ATHBAH EKS ALIHANDRO BINT MARAJJ owner: HRHP ABDULAZIZ BIN AHMED BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD bronze Medal Yearling fillies ROWAIAT AL BUSTAN FA EL RASHEEM RANEEM AL AMARDI owner: AL BUSTAN STABLES www.tuttoarabi.com - TUTTO ARABI 121
BABILON MS gold Medal yearling Colts ALFABIA BABILON ABHA NOUBA owner: MANDARA ARABIAN HORSE STUD 122 TUTTO ARABI - www.tuttoarabi.com
Silver Medal Yearling Colts AJ WASMI AJ PORTOFINO WHISTLER BHA owner: AJMAN STUD bronze Medal Yearling Colts BADEEA AL BIDAYER MARAJJ BAILA DE DJOON OS SHEIKH MOHAMMED SAOUD SULTAN S ALQASSIMI www.tuttoarabi.com - TUTTO ARABI 123
AJ SAYEDA gold Medal fillies VERVALDEE SWEET CAROLINE LL owner: AJMAN STUD 124 TUTTO ARABI - www.tuttoarabi.com
Silver Medal fillies MARAM AL BIDAYER AJ BARZAN MARAMI AL BIDAYER owner: SHEIKH MOHAMMED SAOUD SULTAN S ALQASSIMI bronze Medal fillies D LAMIA QR MARC LUMIAR BINT BALZAC owner: DUBAI ARABIAN HORSE STUD www.tuttoarabi.com - TUTTO ARABI 125
D KARRAR gold Medal Colts GAZAL AL SHAQAB D NOOR owner: DUBAI ARABIAN HORSE STUD 126 TUTTO ARABI - www.tuttoarabi.com
Silver Medal Colts FAHD AL TINHAT SHANGHAI EA BARBARELLA RV owner: ABDULLAH BIN FAHAD AL HAQBANI bronze Medal Colts SAHIR AL BIDAYER S.M.A.MAGIC ONE SAN JOSE ALFONSINA owner: SHEIKH MOHAMMED SAOUD SULTAN S ALQASSIMI www.tuttoarabi.com - TUTTO ARABI 127
AJ RAHEDA gold Medal Mares WH JUSTICE LUMIAR ROSALITA owner: AJMAN STUD 128 TUTTO ARABI - www.tuttoarabi.com
Silver Medal Mares FARIDAH AL BIDAYER MARAJJ SC VENUS owner: SHEIKH MOHAMMED SAOUD SULTAN S ALQASSIMI bronze Medal Mares AL ARYAM SUHAYLA MARWAN AL SHAQAB SIMEON SIDRAH owner: AL ARYAM ARABIANS www.tuttoarabi.com - TUTTO ARABI 129
HAYS ATHBAH gold Medal Stallions EDEN C MAWEE ATHBAH owner: HRHP ABDULAZIZ BIN AHMED BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD 130 TUTTO ARABI - www.tuttoarabi.com
Silver Medal Stallions NASHMI AL HAWAJER MARAJJ MANIBA BINT IBN NARAV owner: DR. GHANEM MOHAMED OBAID ALHAJRI bronze Medal Stallions BURKAN PAKISTAN VERDJINIA owner: AL ARYAM ARABIANS www.tuttoarabi.com - TUTTO ARABI 131
W RSA STABLES open day 132 TUTTO ARABI - www.tuttoarabi.com